Ridiculous Fishing review:
It's not just fun to play; it's hysterical

The rest of the buttons on the tablet bring you to the other important information in the game. Fish-O-Pedia is where you can see the fish you've caught so far and how much money you get for each type. The map button shows which areas you have unlocked and lets you quickly travel there to fish in different and more dangerous waters. Finally, Byrdr is where you can read "tweets" from your bird friends, mostly with pithy comments on the things you buy, but with the developers' unique style of comedy found throughout the game.

Make no mistake, Ridiculous Fishing is hilarious, from the funny "tweets" in Byrdr to the fish descriptions in Fish-O-Pedia. For example, the description for goldfish says, "A fish made out of gold-colored fish," and for the piranha, "Careful, hard to spell." This dry humor is present throughout the game and definitely had me chuckling between rounds.

Open the tablet to access the store where you can upgrade your weapons, buy lures, and upgrade your reel for a longer fishing line.
Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET

Recent updates to the game add new items the store, fix some crashing issues, and let you play your own music while you play the game. One new item in the store is a particularly welcome addition: the knife. With the knife you can cut your line if you want to quickly restart after a bad cast. You'll need to earn the money to buy it, but it was a highly requested feature according to the developers, and I think it's well worth the somewhat expensive price.

The only problem I had with Ridiculous Fishing is a small one, but worth noting. The game can only be played in portrait mode. This is fine when you're playing on your iPhone, but it can get annoying when playing on the iPad. Holding the iPad in landscape orientation is simply the more comfortable option and if you spend a significant amount of time playing, the weight of the iPad starts to make you tilt the screen forward. Certainly not everyone will have this problem (depending on which iPad you own), but I found myself wishing I could switch to landscape more than once.

Overall, Ridiculous Fishing is a joy to play for the addictive fishing and shooting action as well as the comedic style. The games draws you in with the need to upgrade your lures and weapons, and keeps you interested by making you catch every species of fish to move on to the next area. Whether you're playing on an iPhone or iPad, this game is incredibly easy to pick up and play, and the absurdity of the gameplay only adds to the fun.

Where to Buy

Ridiculous Fishing (iOS)

About The Author

Jason Parker has been at CNET for nearly 15 years. He is the senior editor in charge of iOS software and has become an expert reviewer of the software that runs on each new Apple device. He now spends most of his time covering Apple iOS releases and third-party apps.